By Jordan Green
BAY CITY – Churches across the state made the decision to shut their doors to the community in widespread efforts to contain the coronavirus.
As the number of coronavirus cases grows exponentially in the U.S. and life seems to be at a complete halt, church organizations are working hard to bring normalcy to the community during such an unprecedented time.
While this means there will be no more regular services for churches across Michigan, Bay City’s Immanuel Lutheran Church is looking on the bright side of this gloomy situation.
The Rev. Kevin Jones says he is now able to reach people across the globe. Some of the livestreams of the church’s service received over 250 views.
“We’ve been able to reach probably further, digitally, than we have just sitting here within the walls of the church,” says Jones. “We have a gal in Germany that has responded well. My sister in Switzerland has sat in on our [online] worship service.”
Jones says Immanuel Lutheran Church and their school is making do with the online adjustments, and a scroll through their Facebook page can justify this statement.
For Immanuel Lutheran, the “Stay Home, Stay Safe” order has meant an increase in their online presence.
Facebook posts of the school’s K-12 students participating at home in virtual spirit week are uploaded daily. The church is hosting live bingo, streaming live services and posting to their Facebook daily to connect to their members.
The daily devotions are usually done at 8 a.m. on Immanuel Lutheran’s Facebook page. For members of the church who aren’t connected on Facebook, the church broadcasts on WSAM (1400 AM) every Sunday morning at 9 a.m.
Blocks away at First Presbyterian Church – located on Center Avenue – interim pastor Leslie Piper made a swift transition to online with help from her talented and dedicated staff using Facebook groups to stay connected.
“It’s really hard, as you can imagine, [because] when things like this happen, you want to go to church,” says Piper. “In the midst of any kind of time of distress or tragedy; it was really a hard decision to cut people off from [church]. We knew that people were going to feel isolated at a time when they needed to feel a sense of community.”
Piper and her staff proceeded to split the directory and call to check in on church members during this time of social distancing and isolating, with a special focus on the older members who are more vulnerable to the virus and may be left completely alone during this frightening time.
Piper found that most of the elder members have responded that they had grandchildren, a neighbor or someone else who is checking in on them regularly. She says people are realizing they need to step up during this time of need.
“I don’t think anybody is happy about it,” says Piper. “I don’t think anybody wanted this to be the way things are working out. But I just am very impressed by the way that they’re taking that on and doing what they feel like they need to do at this time.”
As supermarket shelves empty and the number of positive COVID-19 cases rises exponentially in Michigan, be sure to check on those most susceptible to the virus – people over 65 or those with underlying health issues – to see if they need groceries or company.
You can view the church’s facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ImmanuelBayCity/
